|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
128.147.28.1
I'm about to mount my first MC cart. I've decided to start using stylast based on all the accolades it receives here.But I have one question. Since I assume that stylast wears off of the stylus as it plays records, where does that material go? Does it end up in the grooves? Or, is it such an infinitesimal amount of material that it doesn't matter.
Sounds like a question from a guy with too much time on his hands :-) It's a slow day at work.
Edits: 07/05/17Follow Ups:
I looked up Stylast Stylus Cleaner's MSDS-- these are all on line by law I think-- and the ingredients are pure isopropyl alcohol and water.
So you can mix your own from high-purity reagent-grade IPA you can buy on Amazon a $12 a quart-- that and a jug of distilled will should last 7Xforever. I'd go no stronger than 1/3 IPA- research arguments about IPA un-bonding your diamond and play safe.
Everyone must agree that cleaning your stylus is a good thing, right? I wouldn't use matchbook strikers, spongy things, adhesive gels, etc etc- they seem too crazy although they have deep adherents here in the Asylum.
Stylast Stylus Preservative Preservative has a mix of 10-40% (huh?!) "proprietary ingredients" , the balance being "perflourintated compounds." (That's the same ingredients listed on the Stylast MSDS for their Record Preservative.) The most common PFC's seem to be "fluorinated surfactants" - very strong sh*t, with very bad environmental effects. Preservative? It's just one Bear's opinion but I wouldn't put any on my needle, my records or my white mice.
There is some misinformation here. From the manufacturer's website:"Good morning. I have your LAST stylus care combo kit. I wanted to check to see if there is any alcohol in any of your products.
Regards, J.T.
There is no alcohol in LAST Stylus Cleaner nor any in LAST STYLAST Stylus Treatment. In addition there is no alcohol in LAST Record Preservative or LAST All-Purpose Record Cleaner.
The only product that we manufacture which contains alcohol is LAST RCM Fluid. That is a record cleaning fluid specifically formulated to work with vacuum operated record cleaning machines (such as Keith Monks, Nitty Gritty, and VPI).
Thank you for your question and your interest in LAST products for the cleaning, care, and protection of records."
Best regards, Walter Davies
Edits: 07/07/17
There seems to be a certain amount of confusion about the range of products offered by this manufacturer. I recommend that anyone interested visit their website http://thelastfactory.com/ to acquaint themselves with the products, which will sort out some of the confusion. Used as directed, these products should in no way be controversial. If anyone suffered damage from their use it most likely resulted from not following the directions. For example, Stylast is directed to be applied to the stylus tip only, not to the cantilever. Horror stories of the liquid migrating up the cantilever and getting into the coils of a MC cartridge could only occur if Stylast is applied to the cantilever itself rather than just the stylus tip. Used properly Stylast will extend the life of the stylus approximately 2x. I know this from having monitored wear on stylii for years using a Wild Heerbrugg microscope. We have done controlled tests with two cartridges, one treated and one kept clean but not treated to verify wear rate.
At a dealer where I worked we also ran a controlled test using 2 identical automatic turntables, and three identical records. First all three records were cleaned with a Keith Monks RCM and then played to ascertain they were the same. Noise levels were verified via "O" scope and recorded. Then one record was left untouched as a control, one record was treated with Last Record Preservative, and one was left untreated. The two TTs were then put on repeat and the two test copies played for 24 hours. The Last treated record was approximately 20%-30% quieter than the control copy, which was approximately another 20% quieter than the untreated test copy. For fun we repeated the test for another 24 hours, but the results were much the same with the untreated copy slightly noisier, the others unchanged. Everyone involved in this test who wasn't already a customer became a Last user. That experiment occurred over 30 years ago and as far as I know everyone of us still breathing is spinning vinyl and using Last products. This is one of those products that meets all the claims made for it.
Many of us have been using Stylast Stylus Preservative for 30-years or more without the slightest problem. On the contrary, it keeps the stylus pristinely clean and lengthens its life. You don't have to use it, but those of us who do wouldn't want to be without it.
I have not had to clean a stylus in more than 30-years because they never get dirty when I use Stylast Stylus Preservative before every side of every record.
Best regards,
John Elison
.
.
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
Opus 33 1/3
It doesn't "go" anywhere. It doesn't wear off. It penetrates the vinyl, hardening it. As a result,. your LPs retain their original audio quality longer.
"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)
You're thinking of Last Record Preservative. The dude was asking about Stylast, which is applied to the stylus and is meant to be reapplied before each LP or side of an LP.
This mistake happens a lot so just to recap: Stylast is applied to the stylus again and again and again. Last is applied to the vinyl just the one time.
This information contradicts my understanding of how a vinyl recording is played.
It evaporates! All you have to do is forget to put the top on the bottle one time and you will find out just how fast it evaporates. ;-)
done there, been that.
...regards...tr
I can understand that some kind of solvent carrier evaporates leaving behind some kind of lubricant, otherwise it wouldn't work. Oh well, the mass is probably inconsequential 😄
The Stylast really does just totally evaporate.
I think it works mainly on the first portion of the side.. Also where the LP material is flying by the fastest.
So in effect it reduces wear only until it evaporates.. but that is plenty enough to save 50% of the wear on the diamond... enough to get praised.
Back in the 1980s I used the Nitty Gritty 1.0 Record Cleaning Machine to clean off all the Stylast... :)
I did some Stylast back in the day on my rekkids, but not a lot of them. It was better than the nothings.
Today I use my NG with enzymes and feel pretty good about it. Don't want to mess with the Stylasted LPs cause they sound just fine and quiet.
And my stylus looks pretty clean. No photos, please.
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
Stylast is not applied to records. It is applied to the stylus before each play. It is a treatment for the stylus.
Ever the accurate one.
Did I mean just Last?
Maybe.
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
Opus 33 1/3
I don't remember!
What did you put on yours?
I put a sticker on the label to remind me what I did, whatever "it" was.
Still use whatever "it" is on my stylus. I think I have two things, preservative and cleaner.
Have I done bad?
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
If you've been putting Last on your stylus, and it sounds like you have, then you've probably been doing something bad.
One day, maybe, I'll figure out why all my B&O, ADC, Stanton, Shure, Ortofon and Koetsu have sounded so good from the '60s forward.
It's a mystery.
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
Maybe you've discovered a new use for Last Record Preservative. Or maybe you've discovered that neither Last nor Stylast actually do anything and it's all been a marketing campaign. Either seems equally possible.
Could be, though why change when it's worked so well for the last(!) thirty plus years?
Your equipment profile is very impressive. Congrats! Bet they all sound damn good.
Cheers!
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
Stylast is applied to the stylus before each side of an LP is played. I've used it 30 + years and bever had the need to use the cleaner. Using Stylast preservative kept the stylus clean all by itself.
Opus 33 1/3
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: